Sunday, March 30, 2014

When in Malaysia, it looks as if workers have been 'brainwashed' into believing that strike and industrial actions is not the 'correct' way forward in resolving worker-employer disputes... Workers in other countries continue to use strike action to effectively struggle for their rights but in Malaysia, we hardly remember when was the last worker strike...

The laws have been amended/enacted to really make it very very difficult for Malaysian workers/unions to strike - in fact, Malaysia wants workers and unions to just lodge complaints with the government ...

So, even when Union leaders are 'wrongfully terminated', we do not even see much protest from fellow workers at the same workplace....Employers can continue to violate worker rights....and workers just lodge complaints with the government...

This system works very well for employers ... no risk of disruption of profits... no risk of even 'bad publicity'....for after all, the lodge the complaint - try to resolve the situation amicably ... if cannot refer to court is all a rather 'secret' process which media is also not interested to cover... and it takes a long time.... and people forget the victims and the violations... the injustice and violation of rights just get swept under the carpet...

After a while, it becomes the norm....and maybe today Malaysian Unions and workers have really forgotten how to strike.... Historically, strike has been the most effective weapon of workers and trade unions to get better rights and working conditions...

National teachers' strike: Schools shut across Wales

NUT Cymru says teachers are being asked to work longer and pay more into their pensions

Continue reading the main story

Almost half of schools in Wales have been closed or partially shut after teachers went on strike for the day.

Teachers in the NUT union in Wales and England were protesting against the UK government's changes to pay and pension terms.

Despite the Welsh government having power over education in Wales, pay is controlled by the UK government.

The UK government criticised the strike, saying it caused disruption for children and parents.

More than 13,000 teachers from hundreds of schools across Wales took part in the action.

Some 500 Welsh schools were partially closed and more than 300 completely shut.

While some schools were forced to
close completely, most secondary schools were open for pupils studying
for their GCSEs and A-levels.

The strike was called after a row over a new
performance-related pay structure and tougher pension package planned by
the UK government.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has said that introducing performance related pay would be a way of raising teaching standards.

The idea is designed to bring automatic pay rises to an end,
with schools given the flexibility to offer higher salaries to their
best teachers.

But the fear is, with budgets so tight, it would be difficult
to reward the best teachers without penalising those who are
struggling.

An NUT Cymru rally outside the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday morning attracted up to 300 people.

The union's Wales secretary David Evans, speaking from the
rally, told the BBC: "Teachers are being asked to pay more into their
pensions and are being asked to work longer.

"So it's pay more, work longer, receive less."

David Evans, NUT Cymru secretary, says parents understand it is a "fight for education"

Earlier, he had said that nobody could accuse the union of
taking strike action lightly, adding previous planned action had been
called off twice.

"Unfortunately teachers across Wales really do feel as if they are left with little alternative," he said.

"In many cases they are not simply fighting for a fair deal
for teachers, opposing the unfair pay and pension's raids they have
faced, but are standing up for the very nature of education services on
offer in our communities.

"No teacher wants to strike.

"The individuals doing so will be sacrificing a day's pay,
but it is a decision based on securing the long-term sustainability of
public education in Wales and the UK."

Teachers were taking part in a rally outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay

The other big teaching union, the NASUWT, has walked out
alongside the NUT in the last two national strikes but did not strike on
Wednesday.

The UK government said the strike action was damaging children's education and was unpopular with parents.

A spokesperson for the UK government's Department of
Education said: "Parents will struggle to understand why the NUT is
pressing ahead with strikes over the government's measures to let heads
pay good teachers more.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Workers are not slaves or akin to slaves. When they enter into an employment relationship, they only agree to do the work they are employed for. They do not surrender their human rights and other freedoms. Workers have every right to their freedoms and human rights. And, mind you this includes the right to highlight the wrongdoings and violation of rights of even their employer.

Employers do not control the mind and actions of workers. As workers, they have every right to fight against the violation of rights of fellow workers, and all other workers. They have a right to lobby for better worker rights, join any political party, etc... They have the right to comment about things happening outside their employment duties.

It is shocking that Air Asia X even issued such a directive that its employees are not to comment on MH370. This is unacceptable. As it is the Malaysian government has already limited a lot of our freedoms and rights, and now private corporations are also trying to 'control' their workers in matters not directly linked to the work they are employed to do.

This is not the first time, this has been highlighted in Malaysia. After the last General Elections, a government-link company also terminated 18 workers because they, during the election period, handed in a memorandum to contesting candidates to get their commitment to worker and trade union rights. Of course, workers would only want to support people who support worker and trade union rights, and the advancement of these rights. Corporations have their monies and 'goodies', but all a worker has when it comes to government is his/her vote. See earlier post:- Now 51 groups call on DRB HICOM TO RESPECT THE CITIZENS’ RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN MALAYSIA

Air Asia X must immediately revoke the suspension of the said pilot (see Malaysiakini report below), and never again try to hinder or deny the rights and freedoms of any other employees.

Are Malaysians expected to silently not comment or share their views.

Air Asia X apparently wants this - their workers are expected not to say anything about MH370? What about expressing hope and support to the victims? What about extending their prayers? Air Asia X expects its employees to be seen as cold and unconcerned about MH370

Travellers walking past the AirAsia service counter at Changi
Airport Terminal 1. An AirAsia X senior first officer has been suspended
from duty for suggesting in a Facebook message that the Malaysian
authorities had withheld information pertaining to the search for flight
MH370, Malaysiakini reported. -- ST FILE PHOTO: JAMIE KOH

KUALA LUMPUR - An AirAsia X senior first officer has been
suspended from duty for suggesting in a Facebook message that the
Malaysian authorities had withheld information pertaining to the search
for flight MH370, Malaysiakini reported.

"AirAsia X senior first officer has been suspended pending
investigation as company policies were broken in Facebook posting," Mr
Fernandes wrote on Twitter.

AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Rani Osman added that the
first officer failed to observe a "specific directive" to avoid making
public comments on the ongoing search for MH370's wreckage in the
southern Indian Ocean.

AirAsia X suspends pilot over MH370 remarks

MH370 AirAsia
X, the long-haul arm of budget carrier AirAsia, has suspended a pilot
for comments he made online on the search for missing Malaysia Airlines
flight MH370, pending a domestic inquiry.

"AirAsia X senior first officer has been suspended pending investigation
as company policies were broken in Facebook posting," group chief
executive officer Tony Fernandes said in a tweet last night.

Air Asia X chief executive officer Azran Rani Osman added that the first
officer contravened a "specific directive" not to publicly comment on
the ongoing search.

"(There is a) specific directive to our crew on public comments on
MH370. (There is a) duty of care not to be hurtful," he wrote in
response to Fernandes' tweet.

When contacted, Air Asia X said that it would not be releasing any further details on the matter.

The AirAsia top guns' comments come as several blogs circulated a
picture of an AirAsia X pilot's Facebook post where he criticised the
government for declaring that MH370 fell into the Indian Ocean.

"For f**k's sake lah... Is there any concrete proof that MH370 has
indeed crashed?! It's not right to simply assume when you have no
evidence to back up your claims!

"(The) supposed debris... isn't even confirmed to be from the plane yet! Show us the proof then tell us MH370 has crashed.

"Till then, stop hiding facts! It's obvious to even a blind man that
there (are) tons of info the government definitely knows and isn't
sharing yet!" the posting reads.

The pilot, whose identity is being withheld by Malaysiakini pending his comments, has disabled his Facebook account. It earlier showed that he is a senior first officer at AirAsia.

His other social media accounts show him in a pilot's uniform and
features a video about his love for flying, which also includes various
shots of AirAsia planes.

On Monday night, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that MH370 "ended" in the Indian Ocean, far from any possible landing strips, based on calculations using satellite data.

MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said that MAS concludes
that there are no survivors as it the area it likely fell is thousands
of nautical miles from any land mass and is one of the roughest seas in
the world.

"It has been 17-18 days," he told reporters despondently.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 1.30am on March
8. Satellite data shows that the last "ping" from the air craft was
eight hours later, putting it at the southern Indian Ocean.

It had enough fuel to fly for eight hours, and had departed from KLIA at 12.41am.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

5.30pm - that is the scheduled time for the Daily Media briefings, but of late we see that the Acting Minister of Transport and his team are not punctual - To me, this is a sign of disrespect ....and it reflects badly on the perception of Malaysia. It is a sign of inefficiency? We may accept lateness once in a while - but then one should rightly apologize and explain the lateness.

Everyone is waiting - not just the media but also Malaysians and a lot of people all over the world, and our Acting Minister is late.

Like in Malaysian parliament at times, a question asked is sometime totally ignored and left unanswered. If you do not want to answer, just say that you will not be answering the question - good to also give a reason why no answers.

LANGUAGE - well, the answers are given in Bahasa Malaysia when the question is in Malay from our local journalist....and this is odd because this is not a media conference for just Malaysian media...but for the international media. So, it is not uncommon for a foreign journalist to ask again the same question whose answer was previously given in Malay... this is inefficient - better for the answers to be all in English, or if the answer is in Malay then immediately also follow up with an explanation and answer in English. I am sure that all Malaysia's journalist are fluent in English as well - and noting that many media carry these Media Briefings live ...BBC, Sky Net, etc...

MEDIA - I am also rather disappointed by some of the questions asked by the media. It is almost as if they were not listening to the statement and the earlier question and answers. It looks that they have come with 'pre-prepared' questions and ask it again despite the fact that the answers have been given. Today, one journalist even directed one question to the MAS CEO, who obviously was not even present.

Since it all started, there was much blame put on 'social media' for speculations, etc - but really, it was really mainstream media, and the various people that they interviewed and talked to that were speculating...or rather telling us what they think had happened, etc... Finally, the biggest mistake was made by Prime Minister Najib at 10pm one day when suddenly he told people that the plane had gone down in the sea....and from that hope was crushed - now, this was wrong as there is still to date no actual evidence to show that MH370 went down and all lives were lost ....I still have hope. Whether it went down or crashed in the sea near Australia, I still want to see some proof - that some part of MH370. Whether all lives were lost, well I still have hope...

Malaysian Airlines(MAS),a government-linked company, has a disturbing track record when it comes to worker and trade unions.

Whilst. we all are concerned with missing MH370, it is time to also challenge MAS to improve itself, also with regard to respecting worker and trade union rights.

MAS, even after the secret ballot proving that flight attendants in MAS agree that NUFAM is their chosen union - MAS is now challenging the 'secret ballot' and the recognition in the High Court. Respect the rights of your flight attendants, and accept that NUFAM is the recognized Union and proceed with the process of entering into a Collective Bargaining agreement.

The President of NUFAM, when he makes a statement in his capacity of the President, has been terminated by MAS.

Now, 3 - 4 others from the Union has been terminated...

When members take their grievances to the Ministry of Human Resources, MAS reacts with show cause letters.

On 3/12/2013, 43 groups including the ITUC came out with a Joint Statement, "MAS Must
Immediately Revoke Suspension of Union President Ismail Nasaruddin -Worker Right
Issue Should Be Resolved By Negotiations Not ‘Union Busting’ (see below for the statement)

On 3/3/2014, 54 groups issued another Joint Statement, 'Malaysian Airlines Must Respect Trade Union and Worker Rights - Cease Anti-Union activities against NUFAM and its members (see below for the statement)

Joint Statement – 3/12/2013

MAS Must
Immediately Revoke Suspension of Union President Ismail Nasaruddin

Worker Right
Issue Should Be Resolved By Negotiations Not ‘Union Busting’

We, the 43 undersigned civil society groups, trade unions and organizations are
disturbed by the news that Malaysian Airlines, a government linked company, has
suspended the president of the National
Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM), Ismail Nasaruddin in connection
with a statements made to the media by the Union, which amongst others
suggested that MAS’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO),Ahmad Jauhari Yahya who was appointed
in 2011, should resign. Ismail was
allegedly suspended without allowances with immediate effect starting Nov 8
following a news report quoting him that was published on the same day.

According to a news report, ‘…NUFAM
Secretariat said it is calling on the prime minister to review Jauhari's
contract and remove him as the CEO of MAS, which is a government appointed
position, unhappy that there has been no changes in resolving the cabin crew's
problems…’ (The Sun Daily, 8/11/2013, NUFAM
calls for resignation of MAS' CEO).

Amongst the alleged grievances
being raised by NUFAM, which
represents 3,500 cabin crew at Malaysia Airlines (MAS), as was contained in the
said Sun Daily report are:-

·New policy imposed by MAS on a
weight control ruling where cabin crew are told to reduce their weight to
achieve a certain body mass index within three to six months. Failure to do so
would result in an automatic transfer to ground work. The new rule is also a
blanket policy and affects all cabin crew members including those who have just
returned from maternity leave and may find it difficult to drastically lose
weight within a short time frame;

·Cabin crew who joined in 2004 or
later are no longer able to enjoy the transport services provided by the
airline for pick-up from home, andIsmail said this is unfair to those who joined in 2004 or later, as they
had signed contracts that included transportation as part of the benefits; and

·That the MAS management have allegedly cut costs
drastically which affected the cabin crew resulting also a failure to review
allowances and salaries.

We are especially concerned with this
‘weight control ruling’ which certainly is discriminatory against women,
especially to those returning from pregnancy. Increase of body mass index
sometimes may be beyond the control of a human being, and this really should
not be used to affect their employment.

NUFAM alleges that it wants MAS to
sit down with the Union to discuss and negotiate a new Collective Bargaining
Agreement (CBA/CA) but apparently MAS is not interested to do so at this
moment, citing as reason some judicial review.

Now, MAS has commenced disciplinary
actions against Ismail Nasaruddin, and according to a Malaysiakini report, it
is allegedly because MAS
said Ismail had acted in contradiction with his duties as a chief steward of
the airline by issuing the statement. (Malaysiakini,
14/11/2011, MAS suspends chief steward for criticising CEO)

Now, clearly the statements were made by Ismail in his
capacity as President of the Union, representing some 3,500 workers, and as
such he has the duty and obligation to fight for the rights of workers and that
includes applying pressure on the employer and even calling for the removal of
any of such employer’s officers or even Directors who is standing in the way of
a prompt resolution of the dispute. Unlike employers, every day that a worker’s
issues is not resolved, it is the workers that will continue to suffer. A
prompt resolution is best and just.

No worker, group of workers or unions should be barred from making
public statements to the media or otherwise in the struggle for worker rights
and human rights. This right is clearly acknowledged in the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility
of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally
Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, commonly known today as the
UN Human Rights Defender Declaration.

We condemn the action of Malaysian Airlines (MAS) in
commencing disciplinary actions against a Union leader, and urge MAS to
immediately stop this and revoke the suspension of Ismail Nasaruddin.

We call on MAS to immediately sit down, negotiate and resolve
these outstanding worker issues with the trade union rather than resorting to
‘union busting’ strategies which include disciplinary actions againstworker and union leaders who dare to fight
for worker rights.

We call on the Malaysian government to immediately to act, given
the fact of the much influence it has in a government-linked company like MAS,
to ensure that justice is done for Ismail
Nasaruddin, the Union and its members.

Senator Syed Shahir bin Syed Mohamud

Charles Hector

Mohd Roszeli bin Majid

Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of the following 43 civil society groups, trade unions
and organizations

We,
the 54 undersigned civil society groups, trade unions and
organizations are disturbed by the news that Malaysian Airlines(MAS), a
government linked company continues to violate worker and trade union rights.
Recently, MAS commenced disciplinary action against Mohd
Akram bin Osman, the
Secretary General of the National Union
of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM), and 30 other NUFAM members. The show
cause letter dated on or about 14/2/2014 asked why disciplinary action should
not be taken against them by reason of their participation in an ‘illegal’
gathering on 27/11/2013 at the Ministry of Human Resources in Putrajaya.

On 17/2/2014, Mohd Akram received yet another show
cause letter with new allegation, and he has been suspended with half pay.

The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia
(NUFAM) is a registered trade union, and it had sought recognition from
Malaysian Airlines, the employer of some of its members. Recognition is a legal
requirement in Malaysia before an employer can be compelled to sit down,
negotiate and agree to a Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA). When MAS
rejected the application, the Director General of Industrial Relations(DGIR)
conducted a secret ballot which involved all qualified employees, and NUFAM
succeeded in getting 62.73% of the votes, and thereafter on August 2013,
the DGIR issued the formal letter acknowledging NUFAM as a recognized union. It
must be noted that in Malaysian law, MAS, as employer, would have had to agree
on the list of qualified employees entitled to vote before the secret ballot,
and as such challenging the result and the subsequent recognition of the Union
is bad.

Sadly,
on 4/10/2013, MAS challenged the decision of the Minister to
accord recognition to NUFAM, and filed a Judicial Review application in the
High Court. MAS also allegedly applied for an interim stay order thus depriving
NUFAM the ability to move forward towards a Collective Bargaining
Agreement(CBA).

On 29/11/2013 MAS wrongly terminated
Ismail Nasaruddin, the President of NUFAM, without even having a Domestic
Inquiry, hence denying him the right to be heard and a fair hearing. Ismail was
first suspended and then terminated allegedly by reason of a statement he
issued in his capacity as President of NUFAM, which appeared in the media,
which amongst others stated :- ‘…NUFAM Secretariat said it is calling on the
prime minister to review Jauhari's contract and remove him as the CEO of MAS,
which is a government appointed position, unhappy that there has been no
changes in resolving the cabin crew's problems…’ It also raised other worker
issues (The Sun Daily, 8/11/2013, NUFAM
calls for resignation of MAS' CEO).

MAS send him a show cause letter on 8/11/2013, which
also immediately suspended him. Thereafter, Ismail received another letter
terminating him on 29/11/2013. According to a Malaysiakini report, it is
alleged that MAS
said Ismail had acted in contradiction with his duties as a chief steward of
the airline by issuing the statement.(Malaysiakini,
14/11/2011, MAS suspends chief steward for criticising CEO). This is absurd
as the statement was issued in the capacity of a Union President, not a mere
employee whereby even an ordinary employee should never be denied his freedom
of opinion or expression.

In response, 43 civil society groups and trade
unions, including the International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC), issued a
Joint Statement on 3/12/2013, entitled, “MAS Must Immediately Revoke
Suspension of Union President Ismail
Nasaruddin Worker Right Issue Should Be Resolved By Negotiations Not
‘Union Busting’.

Then,
in December 2013, disciplinary action was taken by MAS against about
10 NUFAM members allegedly based on comments made by them in their NUFAM
Facebook Group. They were all suspended, but thankfully the disciplinary action
seem to have been discontinued against 9. However, one Flight Attendant Ms
Farahtina Kassim is still suspended from her flying duties since 8th December
2013 and even though she is now receiving full wages, she is being deprived of
her flying allowance which constitutes a substantial sum of her ordinary
take-home income.

Now
in February 2014, the show cause letter is against some 30
employees. The most recent allegation of participation in an ‘illegal
gathering’ at the Human Resource Ministry is absurd given the reason that it a
fundamental right for workers and/or their unions to file complaints and make
representation to the government, including the Human Resource Minister. There
has also been no known report or actions taken by the police or relevant
authorities that indicated that any ‘illegal gathering’ even took place on
27/11/2013 at the Ministry. In any event, even if workers went to the Ministry
not during their working hours, MAS certainly cannot make this a worker
misconduct. Being convicted of serious crimes may be a basis for commencement
of misconduct, but here there seem to have been no arrest, investigation or
even prosecution at all. One also wonders whether there is ‘mala fide’ on the
part of MAS to suddenly in February 2014 to issue show cause letter with regard
to things that happened in November last year.

On or about 14 February 2014, Ms
Farahtina Kassim and 3 others were terminated.

It is suspected that the timing of these recent actions
by MAS may have been because the MAS’s judicial review at the High Court
challenging of the recognition accorded Minister to NUFAM was fixed for
18/2/2014, which now has been adjourned to 27/3/2014.

Taking into consideration all these actions of MAS,
it is difficult not to come to the perception that MAS is on a ‘union-busting’
mission, which also includes persecution of Union leadership and those active
in NUFAM.

Malaysia, being a member of the international
community, must also act in accordance with International Standards including
Ruggie’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights:
Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework ,
whereby in cases of government-linked companies like MAS, the obligation is
even greater. The Guiding Principles do state that “States should take
additional steps to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises
that are owned or controlled by the State, or that receive substantial support
and services from State...”.

No
worker, group of workers or unions should be barred from making public
statements to the media or otherwise in the struggle for worker rights and
human rights. This right is clearly acknowledged in the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and
Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms, commonly known today as the UN Human Rights Defender
Declaration.

We call on Malaysian Airlines to immediately cease
all ‘union busting’ activities including the commencement and continuation of
disciplinary actions against members and potential members of NUFAM.

We call on MAS to immediately discontinue the High
Court action challenging the recognition of NUFAM, and to immediately sit down
and work towards a Collective Bargaining Agreement with NUFAM.

We call again on MAS to immediately and
unconditionally reinstate Ismail Nasaruddin, the president of the Union, Ms Farahtina
Kassim and the 3 other flight attendants that have been terminated.

We call on MAS to recognize and respect worker
rights including the freedom of association and the right of qualified
employees to join the Union.

We call on the Malaysian government, being also a
member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and also having
substantial influence in MAS, a government linked company, to ensure that
worker rights and union rights are respected by MAS.

We call
on Malaysia to immediately amend or repeal all laws that hinder or delay the
speedy formation of trade unions and entry into Collective Bargaining Agreement
with employers.

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